Building element



5 m. 11, 1945. C W. g U G ELEME 'Filed Oct. 10, 1942 S Sheets-Sheet 1 P2 'INVENT QQ 'KmuB, /W,M a

ATTORNEYS Sept. 11, 1945; I c. W./KRAUS 2,384,636

BUILDING ELEMENT E Filed Oct. 1o,' 1942' 5 shegt s sheet 4 o0 1* b 00 INVENTCSR E C 0 Z* 4 9 Y 3 Clarence WKmus,

ATTORNEYS securely anchored to a backing slab of fibrous Patented Sept 11,1945

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUILDING ELEMENT Clarence W. Kraus, Buffalo, N. Y. Application October 10, 1942, Serial No. 461,572 (01. 20-5) Claims.

This invention relates to novel building elements and to the method and means employed in their manufacture.

The article of the present invention comprises a prefabricated building unit including an insulating panel having permanently secured thereto in the process of manufacture a plurality of cooperating building siding or roofing elements. In the illustrative example set forth herein the siding or roofing elements secured to the panel or base are conventional wood shingles, but it is to be understood that cooperating siding or roofing elements of other forms and-of other materials may be dealt with according to the principles of the present invention to produce a prefabricated building element which avoids the necessity of applying each separate shingle or other siding or roofing element to the building individually. Among the equivalent shingle materials are asbestos, asphalt, tile, metal, slate and various composition materials.

In the several building elements set forth herein by way of example each prefabricated uni-t comprises several courses of overlapping shingles cellulosic material or of set gypsum or other cementitious material, both the fibrous panel or the cementitious slab and the several courses of shingles being adapted to abut and interlock respectively with base slabs and shingles of contiguous similar prefabricated units.

- In producing prefabricated units according to the method of my invention the several courses of shingles or other siding or roofing elements are arranged in their desired relative positions, pref erably with their ultimately exposed faces downward. The shingles or the like may be secured to each other in this position and are preferably simultaneously provided with anchoring means which may subsequently be embedded in the my present invention;

molded backing slab. Following this, and without a rearrangement of the assembled shingles, a backing slab is cast or poured directly against the upper or rear face of the shingle assembly. Apart from the presence of the assembled shingles therebeneath, the shingles having upwardly project ing anchorages which extend into the poured slab body, the formation of the fibrous or gypsum backing slab is accomplished in much. the same fashion as pulp boards. gypsum wall boards and gypsum lath are fabricated on what are known in the art as board machines. In the case of 'pulp boards modified adaptations of Fourdrinier machines may be employed if'desired.

After the backing slab has set sufliciently to permit handling the entire assembly is placed in a kiln and excess moisture is removed by drying. It is in this phase of the instant method that a novel advantage is afiorded, inasmuch as the necessity for kiln drying of the fibrous or gypsum manner herein set forth, with the entire absence of any voids or spaces between the slab and the adjacent faces of the overlapping shingles, is found to substantially prevent warping of the shingles.

While several forms of prefabricated building units are shown and described in detail herein, by

way of example, and while a single specific example of the method and means of my invention is set forth in detail, it is to be understood that the principles underlying the present invention are not limited specifically thereto, nor otherwise than as defined in the appended claims. scription of specific embodiment frequent reference is had to gypsum backing slabs but it is to be understood that fibrous slabs are fully interchangeable and equivalent. The term fibrous slab is intended to include any pulp board consisting in whole or in part of cellulosic material and in fact the composition ofthe board may be a combination of fibrous and cementitious materials. Any moldable composition having the desired thermal characteristics may be employed.

In the drawings:

Fig. l'is a perspective view of one form of the prefabricated building unit which forms a part of Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing fragmentarily the lower edge of one of the building units of Fig. 1 and the upper edge of the next subiacent unit, illustrating their manner of assembly in a finished wall; I

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional perspec tive view showing the anchoring means which connects the several shingle elements to each other I and to the gypsum backing slab;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are fragmentary plan views of the fabricating means of my invention, illustrating the instant method. Fig. 4 is the left hand portion of the assembly means, Fig. 5 the mid portion, and Fig. 6 the right hand portion. It is to be understood that these figures illustrate a single."

longitudinal assembly path and are broken merely for convenience of illustration;

In the de- .tional shingles and, as shown,

' by a sheet of building paper of conventional the courses H and I3 may be provided by severshingles of the course ing slab It or such Figs. 8 through 15 are transverse cross-sectional views through the assembly means of Figs. 4, 5 and 6 illustrating various steps in the method of assembly of the form of prefabricated building element illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary perspective View of a modified form of prefabricating building unit;

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view through the lower portion of one of the buildin units of Fig. 16 and the upper portion of another,

showing their mode of assembly; and,

' wood shingles. Overlapping the upper or tip portions of the shingles of the course I is a course I l of shingle elements which in the illustratedinportionsof conventhe upper edges of the shingles of the course ll extend only slightly beyond the tips of the shingles of the course it.

The shingles of the course ID are fully backed I2 which is preferably tarred or ot erwise impregnated to render the same weatherproof. The lower portions of the shingles of the course In have therebehind a course l3 of shingle elements which in the illustrated instance comprise the tip'portions only wood shingles. The elements of stance comprise only the .butt

ing conventional shingles like those of the course Ill. The particular proportions of the prefabricated unit may dictate the use of longer shingles in making up the elements of the courses H and i3 than those employed in the full shingle course Hi. The shingle elements of the course I! are separated from those of the course In by the building paper l2 and it will be noted that the i0, together with building paper l2, extend downwardly substantially below the lower edges of the elements of the course IS.

The entire shingle assembly thus far described 'is backed and supported by a gypsum slab or board l and, because the board [5 is cast in situ, the face thereof which is against the shingle assembly follows intimately the surface. irregularities of such assembly. The presence of the course H of shingle tips serves to render the slab '5 of approximately uniform thickness. The. manner in which the several'shingle elements are secured .to each other and held against the slab will appear from the ensuing description of the method of manufacture thereof.

It will be noted that the upper edge of the slab I5 is substantially co-terminous with the upper edge of the shingle elements of the course It and the lower-edge of the I co-terminous 'with the lower edges of the shingles of the course ii. If desired the upper and lower edges of the slab l5 may be provided, respectively, with tongue and groove formations, designated l1 and 18 respectively in Fig. 1. l

' Fig. 2 illustrates the manner edges of the shingles of course the weatherproof paper margins of the shingle elements of course ll of in which the lower ll, together with a subjacentprefabricated element and likewise overlap the upper marginal portion of the backsubiaccnt element. It will slab is substantially l2, overlap the upp be noted further that the lower edges of the shingle elements of the course I I substantially overlap the upper edges of the shingles of the course is to further the prevention of access of moisture to the slab 15 when the devices areassembled and in use.

Referring to Fig. 4 the numerals 25 and 28 designate a pair of adjacent and synchronously moving conveyor belts and, as appears from Figs. 8 through 15, the belts 25 and 26 are separated by a gage bar 21 and are arranged to run at slightly different elevations to assist in proper positioning of shingles thereon, as will presently appear. Gage bars for defining, the horizontal length of building elements to be fabricated and for establishing predetermined unshingled spaces at the lateral edges of the prefabricated units.

It is to be understood that a single composite belt may be substituted for the pair of belts 25 and 26. This may be accomplished by merely overlappin the marginal portion of two belts and securing them by cementing, stapling, sewing or otherwise. The edge of the upper overlapping belt will then perform the function ofthe gage bar 21.

The first step in the assemblingoperation comin Fig. 9, a gage bar 30 being provided for locating the butt ends of the shingles'of the course It. Following this the conveyor belts 25 and 26 bring the partially assembled unit to a station illustrated at the left hand portion of Fig. 5 where Q weatherproof paper, designated l2 in Fig. 1, is

applied, as from a. roll 33. This step is further illustrated in Fig. 10 where a gage bar 84 positions the paper l2 laterally. Following this the assembly arrives 'at a positionillustrated in the 5. mid portion of Fig. 5 where the tip elements of shingles, for forming the course H, are arranged upon-and against the weatherproof sheet I2. To

effect proper location of the elements of the course l3 an overhanging horizontal gag bar 36 59 is provided.

Conventional gypsum wall boards generally comprise a set gypsum core having paper secured across the opposite faces thereof and the paper is generally folded about the marginal edges of the core. In conventional board machines fabrication is accomplished by running a sheet of facing paper along a conveyor belt, depositing sizing the thickness of the plaster plaster thereon,

by means of caliper rolls, bringing the edges of the lower-paper sheet up around the edges of the. gypsum core, and then applying an upper sheet v of facing paper to the deposited plaster core, to

complete the wall board.

In proceeding to supply the shingle assembly thus far described'with a'backing comprising a unitary set gypsum slab it is desired .that the slab" have paper facings both at its exposed face and at the face which is against the shingle assembly.

To this end the next step, which is shown at the right of Fig. 5, comprises placing a sheet of paper 38 over the shingle assembly. The paper it may be drawn directly from a roll 39, As-shown in Fig. 5 the lateral margins of the paper 38 project beyond the shingle assembly to provide selvage 28 and 29 are shown in Fig. 4 r

Y intervening building paper II, and through the gypsum slab facing paper 38. As shown in the perspective view, Fig. 3, the stitches are so formed that their terminal portions are clenched in the outer faces of the shingles of the course l and are so arranged that they have bight portions extending above the surface of the gypsum slab facing paper 38 to be subsequently embedded in the gypsum slab. Clenching the staples at the outer face of the prefabricated building unit enables the applicator to avoid the staples in sawing or to remove staples that interfere with sawing when avoidance is not feasible.

A second row of stitches designated 4| extends I through the thin edges 'of the shingle portions of the course I3, through the midportions of the shingles of the course In and through the thick ends of. the shingle portions of the course ll.

7 The stitches of the row 4| likewise are clenched of the course It to secure the same to the gypsum slab when the latter is cast in such manner as v to embed the bight portions of the stitches. The

rows of stitches 40, 4| and 42 are applied by means of stitcher heads indicated schematically at the left end of Fig. 6 and designated 43, 44

and 45, respectively. Suitable anvil portions for clenching the stitches may be carried by the side frames of the machine for clenching the stitches 40 and 42 respectively and are designated 41 and 48 in Figs. 6 and 13. A third anvil portion for cooperating with the stitcher head 4| is designated 49 and may besecured to the stationary gage bar 21 which is disposed between the belts 25 and 26. When a composite belt is employed, as mentioned hereinbefore, the anvil portions for the center row of stitches 4| may be carried directly by the belt, and in fact the outer anvil portions may be similarly arranged.

After the stitches are placed and the several courses of shingles are temporarily assembled the.

assembly passes beneath suitable scoring discs (not shown) for scoring the gypsum slab facing paper 38 as indicated at and 5| in Fig. 6. Following this the assembly passes conventional die or roll forming means for bringing the marginal edges of the paper 38 into the form indicated at 53 and 54 in Fig. 13. The assembly then passes beneath a hopper containing a slurry of plastic mix which is deposited upon the paper sheet 33 by means of a spout or nozzle 60. The manner in.which the rate of deposit is controlled by placement of the nozzle 60 is entirely conventional. A caliper roll 6| then accurately sizes the deposited plaster as to thickness, the slurry being confined laterally by the folded-up margins 53 and 54 of the paper facing 38. The upp r marginal edges of the turned up portions 53 and 54 of the paper 38 are then folded across the top of the formed slab as indicated at 64 and in Figs. 6 and 14, again by conventional die or roll forming means. 1 p

The final step of assembly, illustrated at the right of Fig. 6 and in Fig. 15, comprises the placing of an outer facing sheet 81 across the upper surfaceof the slab I5. This paper may be drawn from a roll 68 and a final caliper roll 69 urges the sheet I against the deposited plaster and finally sizes the thickness of the unit, The assembly then encounters a conventional shear 10 for cutting the gyp um slabs into presiding may be completed by covering the joints between slabs with weatherproof paper and applying shingle portions to complete the courses Ill and II. 'Since the mode of asembly of the prefabricated units will result in gaps in the shingle courses of uniform width, standard fillingin shingle elements .may be supplied to the applicator.

After having been thus formed the assemblies comprising the gypsum slabs l5 and the variously applied courses of shingles are placed in a drying 'kiln (not shown) where excess moisture is removed from the 'plasterslab and the green uncured shingles are properly seasoned at the same time.

- In the alternative form of prefabricated building unit illustrated in Figs. 16 and 1''! two horizontal courses of overlapping shingles are provided. The upper. of these courses is designated 15, and the lower 18. The shingles of the courses I5 and I6 may be of substantially equal length.

'As shown in Fig. 16 each of the courses 15 and I6 has a backing sheet of weatherproof material,

of the former overlaps the upper edge of the latter.

A gypsum backingslab 13 corresponds to the slab l5 of the first described embodiment and is assembled with the shingle courses 15 and '16 in a similar manner. It will be noted from Fig. 16 that the upper or tip edges of the shingles of the courses I3 extend substantially beyond the upper edge of the gypsum slab 13 It will be further noted that the lower marginal portion of the slab I9 recedes from the lower butt portions of the for receiving the upwardly extending tip edges of the upper'courses of shingles of a subiacent prefabricated building unit. The manner in which vertically adjacent building units interflt is best shown in the detailed cross-section, Fig.- 17.

Figs. 18 through 25 are successive cross-sections through a continuous conveyor type machine which is similar in arrangement to that shown in plan in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Views corresponding to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are not shown in the embodiment now being described since the details thereof will be the same as in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 excepting for obvious modifications in location of gages and the like. These modifications will be clear to those skilled in the art from Figs. 18 through 25.

.19, the same gage bar 86 may be employed in locating the weatherproof backing sheet Ti.

As seen in Fig. 20, the belt sections 84 and 85 then encounter a gage bar 88 for locating the butt ends of the shingles of the course 76 and, Fig. 21, the same gage bar locates the weatherproof backing sheet 18. Fig. 22 shows the placement of a paper sheet 90 which comprises one of the facing sheets of the gypsum slab l9 and corresponds to the sheet 38 of Figs. 1 through 15.

When the assembly reaches the station shown in Fig. 23 the marginal portions of the sheet 90 are turned up as shown at 9 i and 92 and a pocketforming bar or plate 93 is provided. The plate 93 isdisposed between the sheet 80 and the weatherproof sheet 18 of the shingles of the course I6 and removal thereof after completion of the gypsum slab I9 leaves the pocket 80 for receiving the upwardly extending edges of the shingles of a next subiacent building unit. Fig. 23 also illustrates the placement of several horizontal rows of staples or'stitcheswhich again are the same in detall'as shown in Fig. -3. A row 95 extends along the shingles of the course 16 immediately above the plate 93 whichforms pocket 90.

s A second :row 96 extends through both courses,

I! and 16, where they overlap. A third row 91 is secured in the tip ends of the,shingles of the course I! to ultimately secure themto the slab I9 by embedding of their bight portions therein.

Fig. 24 shows the step of depositing the gypsum slab I9 and the subsequent step of folding the V upstanding marginal portions BI and 92 over the elements, said shingle elements being provided with securing means having anchor. portions embedded in said base slab.

4. A prefabricated building unit comprising a set cementitious base panel and a plurality of courses of overlapping shingles arranged along a face thereof, said base panel having a, stepped face whereby the several courses of overlapping shingles lie intimately thereagainst, said shingle elements being provided with securing means having anchor portions embedded in said base panel.

5. A prefabricated building unit comprising a plurality of courses of overlapping wood shingle elements and a set cementitious base slab hav ing a face thereof of stepped form to engage intimately against the rear faces of said overlaptopof the slab as at 98 and 99 respectively. If I desired the slab 19 may be provided with upper and lowertongue and 'groove formations, as in the previous instance. These formations are des ignated I00 and llll respectively in this modification. Fig. 25 illustrates the final assembly step of placing a sheet of paper over the top surface of the slab 19 for completing its envelopment. In Fig. 25 the final paper facing is designated In I -I claim:.

1. A prefabricated building unit comprising a plurality of courses of overlapping shingle elements and a set cementitious base slab having a face thereof stepped to engage intimately against the rear faces of said overlapping shingle elements,said shingle elements being provided with securing means having anchor portions embedded in said base slab. 4 7

2. A prefabricated building unit comprising a plurality of courses of shingle elements and a poured base slab having a face thereof of stepped form to engage intimately against the rear faces of said overlapping shingle elements, said shingle elements being provided with securing means having anchor portions embedded insaid base thereof of stepped form .to engage intimately 5 elements and said baseslab, said fastening elements having prong portions clenched to secure said overlapping shingle elements and offset portions embedded in said base slab. r

ping shingle elements, said shingle elements being provided with securing means Zhaving anchor portions embedded in said base slab.

6. A prefabricated building unit comprising a poured, set base panel and a plurality of courses of overlapping shingles arrangedalong a face thereof, said base panel having a stepped face whereby the several courses of overlapping shingles lie intimately thereagainst, said shingle elements being provided with securing means having anchorportions embedded in said base panel.

'7. A prefabricated building unit comprising a poured set base panel and a plurality of courses of overlapping shingle elements arranged along a face thereof, said base panel having a stepped face whereby the several courses of overlapping shingles lie intimately thereagainst, and fasteners extending through the overlapping portions of said shingle elements to secure the several courses in predetermined assembled relation, said fasteners having anchor portions embedded in said base panch- 8. A prefabricated building unit comprising a set cementitious base panel and a plurality of courses of overlapping shingle elements arranged along a face thereof, said base panel having a stepped face whereby the several courses of overrear faces ofsaid overlapping shingle elements, and staples for securing the shingle elements to each other and to said base slab, said staples having their prongs clenched to secure overlapping shingle elements to each other and their bight portions embedded in said base slab.

10. A prefabricated building unit comprising a plurality ofcourses of overlappi shingle elements and a poured set base slab having a face thereof stepped to engage directly against the rear faces ofsaid overlapping shingle elements, and fastening elements for securing said shingle CLARENCE Wt KRAUS. 

